Howell dog hoarding: Case delayed, pups adopted

Charlene and Joseph Handrick are facing more than $1 million in fines if both are found guilty of the 552 charges of animal cruelty for allegedly hoarding 276 dogs in their Howell Township home.
STAFF VIDEO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

Ross Licitra, chief law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has called the case "the worst hoarding case that we've ever experienced here in the history of Monmouth County."

But hoarding is "extraordinarily common," Licitra said Friday, with most hoarders' neighbors never realized it is going on and hoarders themselves grappling with their own compulsion.